The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0903 GMT - Consensus expectations for Mercedes-Benz's adjusted earnings could rise by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage after the German carmaker reported a second-quarter beat, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel writes. Adjusted EBIT beat by 40%, with all segments contributing, he says. The cars unit beat with a 4% clean margin, above consensus at 3.5%, while the vans adjusted EBIT margin of 10.2% is slightly above the upper end of the 8%-10% guidance corridor. Financial services also delivered a solid beat, he adds. Mercedes confirmed the 3%-5% cars and vans EBIT margin corridors. While investors will likely remain cautious on the cars EBIT margin in the second half due to China, UBS thinks expectations for the company drifted substantially lower following last month's warning from BMW. Shares rise 2.5%. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0846 GMT - SGS posted top-line growth that came in better than expected, with broad-based strength more than offsetting weakness stemming from the Middle East conflict, Bernstein analysts Will Kirkness and Filippo Giardini say in a research note. Although there were concerns about the quality of results, cash generation remained strong and the Swiss testing company reinforced its focus on cash conversion, the analysts say. "For the third quarter, we upgrade our view across all divisions except Industries & Environment, where we remain cautious given potential Middle East headwinds," the analysts say. Bolt-on mergers and acquisitions are expected to contribute around 6% to growth in the quarter and around 7% in the full year, they add. Shares trade 1.4% higher at 96.2 Swiss francs. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)
0843 GMT - U.S. chip stocks are struggling as a result of fragile investor sentiment ahead of U.S. hyperscaler earnings this week, UBS's Mark Haefele writes. Microsoft and Meta report earnings Wednesday, before Apple and Amazon report Thursday. "Uncertainty over the durability of capex and revenue growth" is hurting chip stocks, while investors worry that companies will struggle to quickly scale production of semiconductor equipment, Haefele says. Investors should look to more defensive areas of tech to diversify their holdings, including smartphone makers and data-center investment trusts. U.S. chip stocks extend losses premarket, after the chip-heavy Kospi lost 11% in Korean trade. Micron Technology falls 4.7% premarket, while Intel and Sandisk fall 3.45% and 4.5%, respectively. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0828 GMT - Shares of European semiconductor companies are in the red as concerns about spending on artificial intelligence weigh on tech stocks once again. In Asia, shares of South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix closed nearly 15% lower, while Samsung Electronics shed 13%. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International fall 1.9% and 2.9%, respectively. German chip maker Infineon Technologies is 2.3% lower. STMicroelectronics shares lose 1.7%. Meanwhile, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract is down 0.9%, pointing to a weak opening for tech stocks in the U.S. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0823 GMT - Michelin's half-year results show greater resilience than feared, Equita analyst Martino De Ambroggi says in a research note. The French tire maker's operating profit came in line with expectations, while free cash flow improved, the analyst says. Taking into account comments by management on, for example, original equipment trucks rising in North America in the second half of the year, and assuming that the macro environment doesn't deteriorate, Equita adjusts its estimates by improving free cash flow by 200 million euros to around 1.6 billion euros, De Ambroggi says. Shares trade 1.9% lower at 34.27 euros. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)
0823 GMT - Argenx's $2.2 billion deal to acquire Forte Biosciences should help the European pharmaceutical company diversify its portfolio and validates a CEO transition that took place earlier this year, Bernstein analysts say in a note. Argenx currently has one successful growth driver, its Vyvgart drug for rare neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis, but its U.S. patent is due to expire in 2036, the analysts say. The next five years are key for broadening and deepening its pipeline, and the Forte deal helps it lower portfolio-concentration risk, they add. "Moreover, a key reason why [Argenx] underwent its CEO transition in [January] was to try to accelerate complementing its organic pipeline with interesting external assets," Bernstein says. Argenx's shares fall 0.7%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0819 GMT - Unilever's second-quarter results in its food segment in Europe play into its decision to offload that business, RBC's James Edwardes Jones says. Beauty and personal care were outperformers, while foods missed expectations, he adds. Even though there was a miss for Europe, overall performance was strong in Asia, the analyst adds. The company had a good quarter, even with the part that didn't go particularly well, such as its food business in Europe, he says. Shares are up 6.6%. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0810 GMT - Mercedes-Benz posted second-quarter results that are better than expected overall, with guidance largely maintained and free cash flow boosted by the sale of Daimler Truck shares, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois writes. The company mostly confirmed guidance as results beat across metrics, including a car margin of 4% that landed in the middle of the full-year range. The vans margin of 10.2% is above the full-year guidance range, Houchois adds. There was a net negative contribution of 560 million euros from China joint ventures, but industrial free cash flow of 1.1 billion euros is better-than-expected after the company received 417 million euros of proceeds from selling Daimler Truck shares. Shares rise 5%. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0807 GMT - AstraZeneca struck an upbeat tone on its prospects through 2030 and beyond, signaling it doesn't need dealmaking to deliver growth into the next decade due to its pipeline, Berenberg analysts say in a research note. Executives at the U.K. drugmaker still expect clinical trials for which the company is due to report results this year to unlock more than $10 billion in combined annual peak sales, according to Berenberg. While its Wainua drug failed in a heart-disease study, higher-than-previously-expected sales potential for its respiratory medicine tozorakimab should make up for the shortfall, the analysts say. AstraZeneca now sees tozorakimab peak sales at more than $5 billion. Shares fall 1.7%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0801 GMT - Laopu Gold remains on track to become one of China's premier, high-end consumer brands despite weaker sales in 2Q, Nomura analysts Jizhou Dong and Summer Qian say. The weaker sales driven primarily by lower gold prices last quarter have largely been priced in by the market, they say. The analysts expect Laopu's efforts to strengthen brand recognition, upgrade store locations, launch targeted new products and cultivate more top-spending customers to pay off. Investors are likely to become less pessimistic about its sales outlook if gold prices stabilize in the coming quarters, they add. Nomura maintains its 2026-2028 financial forecasts and its 905.00 Hong Kong dollar target price for the stock. Shares last traded at HK$301.00. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
0757 GMT - Unilever posted an exceptional volume growth performance in the second quarter, with a positive volume beat, Barclays's Warren Ackerman writes in a note. Acceleration in India, Brazil, Wellbeing and Home Care was expected, but the magnitude of overall growth was very high, he says. However, its foods results were softer, for which management pointed to weaker developed markets and higher competition for U.S. condiments, he says. However, the results overall highlight that Unilever's portfolio can deliver growth above that of many global staples peers. Shares are up around 6%. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0739 GMT - Mercedes-Benz results are ahead of expectations, with the 4% cars adjusted margin beating the 3.5% consensus and well within the 3%-5% 2026 guidance range, Bernstein analysts write. A 704 million-euro impairment in the Chinese joint ventures reduced the reported cars unit EBIT to 49 million euros in the second quarter versus consensus at 654 million euros. "Mercedes share of the equity result of BBAC, the main China JV, swung to a negative 560 million euros in 2Q26 from a positive 115 million euros in 1Q26, reflecting the impact of the impairment." The other noteworthy aspect was the 417 million-euro boost to free cash flow from the partial stake sale in Daimler Truck, which realized a 160 million-euro gain, Bernstein adds. Shares rise 5.5%. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2026 05:03 ET (09:03 GMT)
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